Mario Kart: Ultimate Challenge
Mario Kart: Ultimate Challenge is the tenth main instalment of the Mario Kart series. It was developed by BlooP-OW for exclusive release on the Nintendo Switch. The game is the successor of Mario Kart 8 (Deluxe), from Nintendo WiiU (Switch) and Mario Kart Tour (Mobile), where it borrows a lot of assets from. Like other Mario Kart titles, Mario Kart: Ultimate Challenge does introduce some old features, like underwater, gliding, and zero gravity segments return. Much more emphasis has been placed on item usage, and the amount of items present in the game has been substantially increased from the past instalments. The game also features more detail in courses, specifically retro tracks, which appear more redesigned than their original appearances. More courses appear in this game, as more new cups have been created in addition to the new ones that came up in the MK8 DLCs. Even more racers can be chosen, alongsode some alternative costumes. Some gameplay features, such as the ability to look behind, the ability to race with a first-person view and the ability to switch from traditional to motion controls while racing also returns. Features Some old features from the other Mario Kart games returns: Some new features were added, such as: *150cc Foggy for Grand Prix *New Cups: Ice Flower, Cherry, Heart and Crystal Cups, with nitro courses, and Acorn, Boomerang, Horn and Feather Cups, with retro courses; Flower Cup has been renamed to Fire Flower Cup *Mario Kart Channel's Jukebox, Track Creator and Paint Gameplay The gameplay maintains the traditional elements of previous Mario Kart games, specifically from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Players pick a character, which is placed in one of five different weight classes that determine the base stats of the character's vehicle. Players are then able to mix-and-match different customization pieces in order to create their vehicle, which they will then use to race around various obstacle course-like racetracks in an attempt to place first out of sixteen other racers. During the race, players can pick up Item Boxes to either help themselves or hinder other racers. Players receive different amounts of points depending on their position at the end of the race; with the winner of the Grand Prix determined by the one with the most points overall. For the first time in the series, the game features 16 racers, as opposed to the 12 of Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 8 or the 8 of all other titles in the series. Game modes There are 6 main game modes on the game: the Grand Prix, the Time Trials, the Versus Mode, the Battle Mode, the Mission Mode and the Mario Kart Channel. From the main title screen, the player goes to another screen, with the game modes, similar to the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate one. Grand Pix (GP) In this mode, drivers race against 15 other CPU players in a quest to finish first. There are diferent cups to choose from, ranging from the most to the least difficult. Drivers earn points by placing within sixteen positions. A driver with the most points at the end of the four races wins the cup. The rank of the cup is determined on how well you've driven during the four races. It is similar to Mario Kart 8, however, the player is rewarded in Grand-Star Ranks, and only if it wins, getting a Gold Trophy on the cup: *Three Grand-Star ranking: The player must finish all the races at one cup at 1st place *Two Grand-Star ranking: If the player finishes at least 3 races at first place (and the other at least on 2nd or 3rd) *One Grand-Star ranking: If the player finishes at least 2 races at first place (and the others at least on 2nd or 3rd) *If the player finishes any raceof the cup below third place, even if it wins the cup in the final score, it wion't receive any Grand-Star Ranking. Along with the Mirror mode, the Reverse mode and the Foggy mode appears as 2 new engine classes. At the Foggy, Mirror and Reverse modes, the engine class and CPU difficulty does not change from 150cc. Time Trials (TT) Time Trials allows the player to complete all the laps of a race course in the fastest time possible, only with three mushrooms (that allows the player to take shortcuts and save time). The game saves the player's records, and a ghost from the race. Through Nintendo Network connection, the player can exchange its Ghosts to other players, compare their records, and even compete with their Ghosts. The game has Normal Staff Ghosts and Expert Staff Ghosts, which appear in the Time Trials game mode. The Normal Staff Ghosts are available at the start, but when the player gets a time higher than the Normal Staff on a track, the Expert Staff Ghost of the same track will be unlocked. Unlock Expert Staff ghosts helps the player to obtain unlockable racers and Courses stamps. Versus (VS) Versus is a free mode much like Grand Prix, as the player can race in a single course, or in a random order. Here the player can also set their own rules; the game allows the most customization of any game thus far; consisting in: *Item settings: Determines how items are distributed: **Normal: The normal item selection seen in Grand Prix races. **None: No Item Boxes will appear on the course (not available on Frenzy Chaos). **Roulette: In each race, the players can use a selection of three randomized items, bieng the only items that can be collected from Item Boxes (not available on Frenzy Chaos). **Chaotic: Any item can appear in any position. **Turn on/off: Player can choose if an item will appear on an Item Box, or not. *Engine Class: Determines the difficulty of the CPU racers, according to the Grand Prix engine classes: 50cc, 100cc, 150cc, Foggy, Mirror, Reverse and 200cc modes, alongside the Random option (the player can randomize the engine class of each race). *Racers: Determines the number of racers (from 5 to 16). **Teams: Determines the number of teams on Team Mania (from 1 to 4), and the number of racers on each team (each team must have the same number of racers). *Vehicles: Determines the vehicles that can be used. It's possible to choose the option of all vehicles, but the player can also choose to play with only a specific kind of vehicle (Kart, Bike or ATV). *Races: Determines how many races will be played, from 1 to 100. *Course selection: Determies how courses are selected: **Chose: A course can be chosen after the one playable is finished. **Random: Courses are played in a random order. **In order: Courses are played in order; the first course is chosen by the player, and the next ones proceed according to the order in the Grand Prix. **Winner: The winner (first place) of the last race chooses the next course. **Loser: The loser (last place) of the last race chooses the next course. **Middle: The player on the middle place (depends of the number of racers, only available with an odd number of players) of the last race chooses the next course. *Mega randomization: Choose randomly each rule above Also, the Versus have some sub-modes, that can be selected, such as: *'Normal Versus': Drivers can race to their own custom settings, but it is otherwise relatively the same to Grand Prix. *'Double Dash': Racers can choose two characters and a vehicle to race in the circuits, on the mechnics of Mario Kart: Double Dash. Although it's basically the same a the Normal Versus. *'Frenzy Chaos': The racers receive three items after taking an item box. If the player gets the three of the same item, it activates the Frenzy mode, granting the racer invincibility and an unlimited supply of that item for a period of time. The Star, POW Block and Cape Feather items don't appear on this mode. Although it's basically the same a the Normal Versus. *'Team Mania': The racers runs in teams, separated by colours (red, blue, yellow and black). The quanitiy of teams and racers at each team is also pre-determinated. Items only work against the other teams, so, it won't have any effect to the driver's team. The team with the highest score wins. Battle Mode Battle Modes are considered a bunch of different minigames on Mario Kart style. They are played on special arenas rather than courses, named Battle Courses. In most modes the player can either play individual or split into teams; in this case, items only work against the other team, so, it won't have any effect to the driver's team. Much like the VS mode, the player can customize the item settings, the engine class, the number of battles, the vehicles and the battle arena selection. Mission Mode Missions mode is a returning single-player mode which the player must complete some tasks and earn a ranking similarly to that in Grand Prix mode. It involves nine levels, each containing nine normal missions and 2 boss battles (except for level 1, with nine missions and only 1 boss battle). Almost always the ranks depend on how much time is left or taken. Sometimes, the player must use an unlockable runner that has not yet been unlocked to complete a mission (not all of them appear on the mode as playable), or race at a circuit that has not yet been unlocked. There are some kind of missions: #'Ready, Set, Rocket Start': In the first mission, the player must pull off a Rocket Start. #'Don't Crash': Player must drive a lap without hitting any hazards. #'Do Jump Boosts': Player must perform a minimum number of Jump Boosts from tricks or miniturbos. #'Race Through Rings': Player must pass through giant rings. Very often the player has to pass them in numerical order; some other times, additional, smaller, rings appear inside a bigger one. These can also move sideways. #'Collect Coins': Player must pick up all the coins set in the track. Players may lose these coins by some obstacle of such course. #'Break Item Boxes': Player must run over Item Boxes. Usually the racer will obtain Mushrooms after taking a box. In some cases, Item Boxes will move, and the player will have to catch up with it. Other missions the player must take care not to pick up the Fake Item Boxes alongside real ones. #'Glider Challenge': Player must use rings, Launch Star rings and air currents to glide, with the glider, as far as possible before hitting the ground again. Players need to watch out at some obstacles on the air. #'Combo Attack': Player must use items (mainly Mushrooms), tricks or gliding to keep the combo going, before the combo time ends. #'Enemie Takedown': Player must use specific items to destroy a specific number of enemies or hazards on course. #'Smash Small Players': Players must smash, with it's kart, some shrinked CPU players, that will try to avoid the player. #'Battle Players': The players must defeat CPU players on a kind of Balloon Battle mode, however, on normal courses. CPU players will always get other items to self-defense or to attack the racer, using them at the entire mission. #'Race vs. Players': Player must win a race against any CPU player or a group of CPU players. CPU players will always get other items to self-defense or to attack the racer, using them at the entire mission. Solo CPU players always appear on Mega form. #'Boss Battle': Defeat one specific boss/miniboss at one arena (these arenas are not normal circuits). Using items is usually a must in boss battles. Usually both the player and the boss have a health space, much like in Mario Party series. Sometimes player has to do some of those kind of mission on foggy, mirror, or reverse mode. Mario Kart Channel The Mario Kart Channel is a feature in Mario Kart seires, where you can see: Mario Kart TV It's a Miiverse integration, which allow players to share their replay videos and comment on others' videos. Also there you can see your saved videos. Mario Kart Online Players can race matches online against each other. This time players can race with random people both Worldwide and Continental, they can play in a Friend lobby, they can race against Time Trial Ghosts and they can start and participate in Tournaments. Players can set their own rules for tournaments. Mario Kart Shop At the shop, you can buy racers, and kart parts with coins you collect at your races. *Unlockable Racer: 1000 coins *Unlockable Kart, Bike & ATV: 500 coins *Unlockable Tire & Glider: 100 coins Mario Kart Challenges Players can access their challenges that have already been overcome or not yet. Much like Mario Kart Tour, Challenges are objectives the player can complete to earn various stamps and rewards depending on the type: *Common Challenge cards: have easier challenges to be completed. *Gold Challenge cards: have harder challenges to be completed. *Ranking Challenges cards: have challenges exclusively related to ranking (get stark ranking on races or missions, hit opponents with items) Each challenge card holds nine challenges aligned in a 3×3 grid, and for every bingo the player acquires (i.e. any horizontal, vertical, or diagonal match), they earn 50 coins. The player also receives a reward upon completing an entire challenge card. Mario Kart Jukebox It's where you can listen to the game soundtracks, including the other eight Mario Kart games soundtracks. Mario Kart Track Creator Now the player can use the Mario Kart Track Creator to create your own tracks! And also you can share your tracks and play at others' tracks with Miiverse integration! Mario Kart Paint In that mode, players can customize their Miiverse posts creating pictures with the Stamps acquired in the game and now they can change an Stamp's size or paint it. They can also take photos of the gameplay an draw on them to post on Miiverse. Types of stamps: *Driver stamp: There is one stamp for each driver. You obtain one Stamp of one certain character winning at least one Grand Prix with it. **Alternate Costume stamp: Some Alternate Costumes also have one stamp. You obtain one Stamp of one Alternate Costume winning at least one Grand Prix with it. *Item stamp: There is one stamp for each item that can be used in the game. You get one by activating the Frenzy mode on Frenzy Chaos Versus with that item. *Course stamp: There is one stamp for each course in the game. You get one by defeating a Normal Staff Ghost in Time Trial in the specific stage. *Trophie stamp: By getting at least one-Grand Star ranking of that cup on every engine class (50cc, 100cc, 150cc, 150ccFoggy, 150ccMirror, 150ccReverse, 200cc), you get a Stamp of the trophie of that cup. *Boss stamp: There is one stamp for each boss in the Mission mode. You obtain the stamp by winning the misssion with an 3-Grand Star Ranking. *Challenge stamp: There is one stamp for each challenge that is completed. Characters Mario Kart: Ultimate Challenge features 101 characters, the most of any game in the series. Characters are broken up into five weight classes, with their stats being changed to further categorize them. These are: Feather, Light, Medium, Cruiser and Heavy. The game begins with 16 racers (relative to the number of the racers' position, from 1st to 16th) and with the Mii racer (that can't be chosen in the player's first GP race). With the exception of crossover and Mario Kart Arcade characters (Link, Villager, Isabelle, R.O.B., Inkling Boy and Girl, Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Blinky, Don-Chan and Mametchi), all playable characters from all previous mainline instalments return. To unlock the other races, the player must complete some standard criteria. Also, At the Mario Kart Shop, the player can buy the unlockable racer in exchange for 1000 coins, however, some racers do not appear at the shop. Alternate Costumes The Alternate Costumes are unlocked after the player unlocks the primary racer and when the player wins at least 1 cup with it's character. Gold Mario is unlocked with the Gold Kart, Gold Bike, Gold ATV, Gold Tires and Gold Glider in the Gold Pack. Mission Bosses Every level of the Mission mode feature a battle against one mid-boss, that appears in the middle of the level (on the mission X-X, except for Level 1), and one boss, that appears always on the end of the level (on the mission X-9) Items During a race, racers can drive through Item Boxes to be granted an item through a roulette. As previously stated, these items are the main focus of a race, as using them may hinder other racers and/or aid the player. These items vary in usefulness depending on the distance from the current frontrunner; with racers closer to the frontrunner receiving less-powerful items (like Bananas or Green Shells), while racers furthest from the frontrunner receiving the most powerful items in the game (like Spiny Shell and Lightning). A mechanic that returns from previous instalments is the ability to carry up to two items at once. With the ability to hold up to two items, racers can switch between the two of them at will. Old items New Items Items found on the track Courses The cups appear on a new organization. In addition to the original ones, some new cups appear on the game. Egg Cup and Bell Cup return from Mario Kart 8's DLC, however, as unlockable cups (like Fire Flower, Star, Banana and Leaf cups) and without the coexistence of nitro and retro courses. Nitro Courses Retro Courses As with the retro tracks from the 3DS and WiiU installments, those in this game feature altered sections that incorporate the game's trick ramps, half-pipe ramps, gliding ramps, underwater and anti-gravity features, alongside one massive design improvement, much similar to the WiiU installment. OBS: N64 Moo Moo Farm, N64 Choco Mountain, Wii Maple Treeway and 3DS Rock Rock Mountain are the only retro courses that have already been retro previously, in other Mario Kart games. Battle Mode Stages The game have the option to choose the new arenas and some old arenas Boss Arenas The Mission Mode uses several locations for its Boss Battles, some of which were created for the Mission Mode and are not found anywhere else. *Grass Arena: Is where Goomboss is fought. The place is similar to the arena of the minigame Wiggler Bounce, from MP9. *Stone Arena: Is where Whomp King is fought. The place is similar to his arena on SMG2. *Sand Arena: Is where Eyerok is fought. The place is identical to the Sand Arena from MKDS, however, with anti-gravity walls and quicksand at the center of it. *Ice Arena: Is where both Chief Chilly and Baron Brrr are fought. The place is similar to Chief Chilly arena from SM64DS. *Water Arena: Is where Mollusque-Lanceur is fought. The place is similar to the arena of the minigame Mega Cheep Chomp's Shell Shock, from MP10. *Jungle Arena: Is where Peewee Piranha is fought. The place resembles Piranha Creeper Creek from SM3DW, being a platform surrounded by poisoned water. *Lava Arena: Is where both Boss Brolder and King Kaliente are fought. The place is similar to Boss Brolder arena from SM3DW, however, with a pool of lava in the middle (in both missions). *Metal Arena: Is where Prince Bully is fought. The arena resembles a bit the Water Arena from MKDS, however, it consists of a platform surrounded by mercury; also, there are no boundaries, allowing both the player and the boss to be knocked in the mercury (liquid metal). *Dark Arena: Is where Bouldergeist is fought. The place is similar to Bouldergeist arena from SMG. Some stone spikes can appear on the ground. *Cloud Arena: Is where Lakithunder is fought. The place resembles Cloud Kingdom (Nimbus Area) from SMO (and also other sky locations, like World 7 from NSMBW, World 7 from NSMB, World 6 from SM3DW, World 5 from NSMB2), being a floating cloud-like platform, with other smaller clouds above. When the boss gets angry, the cloud turns darker, and the background will resemble to the King Lakitu's arena from SMG2, with other dark clouds. This platform can also conduce electricity. *Gold Arena: Is where King Coin Coffer is fought. The places resembles the Crown World style from SM3DW. Vehicle parts Kart customization is a returning feature, in where it lets you change various parts of the karts, such as the car body, tires and gliders. Each combination sets a certain amount of stats, which are split into Speed, Acceleration, Weight, Handling and Traction. There are 3 types of vehicles: Karts, Bikes and ATVs. For the Double Dash Versus mode, the design of the karts changes, regarding the concept "two racers in one vehicle" within the game. The karts have a seat on the front where a character drives the kart and a platform in the rear of the vehicle where the second character is able to use an item, taken from the Item Boxes. The unlockable parts can be purchased, with the coins gathered in the races, in Mario Kart Shop. The Gold vehicle parts are unlocked with Gold Mario in the Gold Pack. Karts With the exception of crossover karts (ROB-BLS, ROB-LGS, Blue Falcon, Streetle), Mario Kart Arcade Karts and the Standard karts, all playable karts from all previous mainline instalments return. New Karts: *Standard Kart: the Standard kart of the game *Mine Cart: based on the Mine Carts from DKC series *Supermarket Trolley: based on a real life shopping cart *Starship Mario: based on Starship Mario from SMG2 *Mecha Odyssey: based on The Odyssey from SMO *Uponion: based on the enemie Uproot *Bowser Mobile: a replica of Bowser Mobile from SM3DW *Brick Blocker: a kart made of Brick Blocks *Autobomber: based on Autobomb enemie from SMB2 *Sphynyx: based on the Sphynx from SMO *Torpedo Trasher: similar to Bill Blaster, however with a Torpedo Ted *more coming soon... Bikes *Standard Bike: the Standard bike of the game *Maw-Ray: based on the enemie Maw-Ray *T-X: based on the T-Rex from SMO *Urban Mosquitoe: based on the enemie Urban Stingby *The Broom: based on Kamek's broom *Mini Rocket: based on the Mini Rocket from SMO *Motor Scooter: a replica of Motor Scooter from SMO *Frozen Rider: a variation of Flame Rider, however with frozen dusts on it *more coming soon... ATVs *Standard ATV: the Standard all terrain vehicle of the game *Football Rider: based on the enemie Chargin' Chuck *Ghost Clasher: based on the enemie Broozer *Papercraft: based on Papercraft Mario from M&L:PJ *Ice Creamer: based on an cone Ice Cream *BAAATV: based on sheeps from SMO *more coming soon... Gliders New Gliders: *Shinechute: a variation of Parachute that resembles a Shine Sprite *Rocket Barrel: based on the Rocket Barrel from DKC:TF *1-Up Fuel Parachute: a variation of the Parachute that contains the 1-Up Fuel logo *Luigi's Mansion Parachute: a variation of the Parachute that contains the Luigi's Mansion series logo *Burgerchute: a variation of Parachute that resembles a burger, with the Coco Burger logo *Glydon Wings: based on Glydon from SMO *Moonchute: a variation of Parachute that resembles a Power Moon *Fuzzy Kite: looks like a large kite with the artwork of a Fuzzy printed on it *Paper Mario Glider: based on Paper Mario, folded into an airplane, similar to Trio Glider from M&L:PJ *Mr. L Glider: a variation of Paper Mario Glider, however with Mr. L *Rotten Mushute: a variation of Parachute that resembles a Rotten Mushroom *Mario Motors Parafoil: a variation of the Parafoil that contains the Mario Motors logo *Paratroopa Glider: looks like a large kate with the Paratroopa Airlines symbol *Coin Boxes: a variation of Gift Glider, however with two coin boxes *Dark Swooper: a variation of Swooper, however with dark skin *more coming soon... Tires Coming Soon... Gold Pack The Gold Pack is a pack that conitain the golden Alternate Costume of Mario, Gold Mario, and the gold kart parts: Gold Kart, Gold Bike, Gold ATV, Gold Tires and Gold Glider, alongside the Gold Blooper and Gold Train Karts. That Gold Pack has a kind of unlocking criterias to be unlocked. If the player achieve all the following rules, it will receive all the awards of the Gold Pack: #Rank one-Grand Star or higher in all Engine Classes Cups in Grand Prix #Win in all courses on Normal Versus, Double Dash, Frenzy Chaos and Team Mania in VS Mode at least once #Unlock all Expert Staff Ghost Data records in Time Trials #Win all battle modes on every battle arena in Battle Mode at least once #Rank one-Grand Star or higher in all Missions in Mission Mode #Unlock all characters and all Alternate Costume (except for Gold Mario) #Unlock all karts, bikes, ATVs, tires and gliders (except the Gold ones) #Unlock all Stamps of Mario Kart Painting #Play with all the partner gropus for the Double Dash VS mode at least once #Activate Frenzy mode with all items on Frenzy Chaos VS mode at least once #Listen to all musics of Mario Kart Junkebox Soundtrack *Main Theme: *Main Menu: *Mario Kart Channel Menu: *Mario Kart Track Creator/Online Race Menu: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOIpNGlxBC0 *Results: *Throphy: *GP/Mission Credits: Mission Levels *Racing against CPU music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01dAtCXYJHg *Mission completed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0P23ECTQH4 *Boss/Miniboss Intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHw2BIQA83s *Goomboss music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z5rE4q0eyQ *Whomp King music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDQPC-QpAjc *Eyerok music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEv-gNJxZ-8 *Chief Chilly music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zib0R5sq7-g *Mollusque-Lanceur music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lllIhkq57Rc *Bull's-Eye Banzai Bill music: https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/146749 *Baron Brrr music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=traCZdD2Ubc *Peewee Piranha music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwpQEfoqYgk *Boss Brolder music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG1cK9K0RSA *Prince Bully music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnAil3dVOUc *King Kaliente music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtXf8LH--dg *Rolodillo music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQloevsUT50 *Bouldergeist music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tgNsI5kr1Y *Lakithunder music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXsKixLnVcA *Mechawiggler music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4SomOznbiE *King Coin Coffer music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHwUOtMiwnI *Final boss music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0Mp_B7fFpY *Boss/Minboss Defeated: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8mmrDauZwY Category:Games Category:Fan Games Category:Racing Games Category:Games by Explodio the BlooP-OW Category:Mario Kart (series) Category:Mario (series) Category:Mario Games Category:Mario Kart Games Category:Nintendo Switch Games